Woodside says it was behind oil spill that regulator kept secret

The company reported a leak from a well off the coast of Western Australia to Nopsema last year, and says there was no lasting impact on the environment

Woodside Petroleum has confirmed it was behind an oil spill off the coast of Western Australia that was kept secret by the regulator for more than a year.

The company said on Friday that it reported a leak from a well in the Cossack field on the North West Shelf to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) in April 2016.